Monday, August 2, 2010

The Nile Hunt

Before I forget —(blush) actually I DID forget—to also show one more amazing 1876 painting of Hans Makart, The Nile Hunt of Cleopatra, I'm posting it now, better late than never. Maybe you've seen it on the web or in a book, but for those who haven't . . .


7 comments:

M. D. Jackson said...

Wow! - and before I forget - Wow!

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

You're making fun of me! But that is quite a wowser, idn't it?

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

(FWIW, Norman Lindsay opposed wowsers.)

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

I'm not sure what you're referring to, Daniel. Makart's work was long before his time, and Lindsay's work seemed to be a long series of wowsers. It's almost an artist's job description to create a sense of wow, in one form or another.

Unknown said...

wow it's wonderfiul

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

Seeing “wowser” used (with American meaning) in a 'blog that has praised and featured the work of Lindsay, I stooped to a trans-Pacific pun.

In Australia, “wowser” has a very different meaning; it refers to a prude who attempts to block others (as well as him- or herself) from pleasures regarded as sinful. References Lindsay from his own nation thus often refer to his work as a rejection of ‘wowserism’.

(And, yes, this picture by Makart is d_mn'd beautiful. Additionally, I am struck by how the images of female beauty in this particular work are much as would be popular to-day.)

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

Ah, okay, gotcha.

You didn't stoop, I need to elevate.